It's pretty crazy how people can get attached to inanimate objects. The car in the above photo (a 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage DE coupe), for example. That was my car... scratches, scuffs, bird shit and all. I bought it on June 11th, 2002, just three days after my wedding. It wasn't the first car I'd owned, but it was the first brand new car. I don't know how we managed it. We managed to get deferred payments as part of the financing options, which we needed since we had almost no money at the time. With an 11% interest rate, our payments were around $312/month when we started making them. We didn't have a lot of choices... we needed a car right away, and Mitsubishi was the only manufacturer that was deferring payments, and the Mirage was the only Mitsubishi we could afford. I liked the car when I bought it. After all, it was kind of sporty-looking. It was a bit later that I realized that having a 2-door is kind of a pain, and that it was lousy to drive in the snow. Still, it got us where we needed to go those crucial years when we only had one car. Even after, it got me from Greensburg to Cleveland for job interviews. And even after my wife got a newer car (a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer LS) and we started driving that car as our main car, my Mirage still got me wherever I needed to go when I was flying solo, for just a few weeks shy of 8 years now.Lately, though, she'd been giving me troubles. There were some spots that were rusting, and I spent a bit of money repairing most of the exhaust last year. Then the battery went. About two weeks ago, I was on my way to a friend's house when it got obnoxiously loud. This time, it was the flex pipe, and it was going to cost another $1100. It was quite likely that, if I wanted to invest in a bit of repair, that she would have kept running for years yet, but I was getting frustrated with the expensive repairs and the plummeting Blue Book value. And she just didn't seem reliable anymore. So after much deliberation and soul-searching, we decided to get rid of her today, May 15th. And what was surprising to me was how similar that felt to the decision to put down our 18 year-old cat. Maybe it was for the best, but I was still saying goodbye to a loyal friend. So there you have it... I'm getting emotional over a car.
Farewell, old friend... you were a loyal and trusty car, and you'll be missed.
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1 comment:
First I have to say it is great to see the return of this blog. It has been way overdue in its return. I really hope to get some great reviews in the near future. I think we're all in agreement when I say "Welcome Back!"
It is hard to believe that "The Mitsu" has been around for nearly 8 years. I will never forget when I was in Taiwan and you sent me a picture of the car. That really does not seem all that long ago, but to think that was 8 years ago is amazing.
It was crazy when we compared the Chevy Cavalier to the Mitsu how vastly superior the Mitsu was even though the cars are "supposedly" comparable.
Some great memories were had with trips and daily outings, but just as all things must come to pass it is truly time to say good-bye to this old friend. It was a great first new car and is great how you were able to get it and work through paying it off. It was a sign of the times how you were starting off in your life.
Now that you are settled and the car served its purpose it is time to move onto bigger and better things. Can't wait to hear about the new car. Which is a good thing, because it means the blog will be back in action. Good luck with the new car and to many years of good driving quality.
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